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Cities offer many children the advantages of urban schools, clinics and playgrounds. Yet the same cities the world over are also the settings for some of the greatest disparities in children’s health,
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Cities offer many children the advantages of urban schools, clinics and playgrounds. Yet the same cities the world over are also the settings for some of the greatest disparities in children’s health, education and opportunities. Hundreds of millions of children today live in urban slums, many without access to basic services.

Those children are vulnerable to dangers like violence, exploitation, illness or death. In this year’s “The State of the World’s Children” report, UNICEF highlights the problems and dangers for children in urban areas.

Press Release- Make cities liveable and safe places for millions of children

Greater urbanization is inevitable. In a few years, the report says, the majority of children will grow up in towns or cities rather than in rural areas. Globally, children born in cities already account for 60 per cent of the increase in urban population.More than 50% of the world’s population now lives in urban areas. In India the number is 377 million according to Census 2011. This number is growing.

More than 50% of the world’s population now lives in urban areas. This number is growing. By 2050, two thirds of the world’s people are expected to live in towns and cities. The world’s urban population grows by around 60 million people each year, with most urban growth in low- and middle-income countries

Feature - Getting At-Risk Children into School in the Slums of Moradabad

From the ages of 8 to 10, Anas spent 10 hours a day, six days a week fanning the furnace fire in a smoke-filled workshop in the Moradabad slum where metals were melted and moulded for use in the metal ware industry. He earned less than a quarter of a dollar a day.

Nargis was married shortly after her father died, the loss plunging the struggling family even deeper into poverty. Nargis’s mother in desperation accepted the marriage proposal. As a result of her marriage, Nargis left school. “I wanted to continue studying but I couldn't."

The report in front of us today talks about the main challenges thay children face around the world growing up in cities, including the unequal access to basic services, high rates of under-nutrition and under five mortality, low access to water and sanitation, and the impact of natural hazards and economic shocks